Deductions Posts in Tax Q&A

Structuring tax for a side businesses

Posted 13 November 2019

I need some advice regarding how to structure my taxes and what ways I will be able to reduce my tax exposure through deductions, registering as a private Pty vs Sole proprietorship etc... I have a salaried job and am starting up a side business working from home as a web developer. I am also considering to start renting out our flatlet via Airbnb. The total income I am looking at includes (per month): 1) Salary: R70000 2) Airbnb: R3000 (which is a bit hard to estimate right now till we have built a track record, but this is assuming an average occupancy of 13%) 3) Web development: R5000...

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Foreign income with online forex trading

Posted 24 October 2019

How one would declare Income/Loss that is derived from online forex trading. The trading account is in USD so I assume foreign income.

1. Where would one declare this income/loss with TaxTim/eFiling tax return under foreign income?
2. Is it necessary to declare if only a loss was made?
3. Can withdrawal fees/currency exchange and bank fees be deducted from overall profit.
4. What documentation would SARS require? The only documentation that can be acquired from the trading platform is trading history showing profit/loss but no tax certificates. ...

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Independent Contractor versus Personal Service Company

Posted 2 October 2019

I'd like to get some clarity on whether there is a difference between an Independent Contractor and a Personal Service Company?

Tax on shares

Posted 19 September 2019

I received a once-off payment for shares in November 2018. I then opted to pay tax on the shares before the payments was made to me. Therefore the tax was already deducted before any monies were paid to me. I am now uncertain how to enter this in my 2019 tax return. Can you please advise %u2013 do I need to submit this income in my 2019 tax return and if I must, what figures must I submit in terms of the share payment made to me in this tax year?

Claiming retirement

Posted 25 July 2019

I am confused and I need some clarity regarding money I am contributing into a pension fund. I am making monthly contributions into someone else%u2019s pension fund. I was wondering whether I can deduct my contributions from my income for tax purposes. Can I claim these contributions back? I am not certain whether this is doable and would appreciate your help.

Earnings of a teacher and tax

Posted 5 June 2019

I would like to find out if I should submit a tax return as a teacher that earns R300 000 per annum. Would this be required of me?

Tax allocation

Posted 21 May 2019

Where does my tax money go to?

Tax Deduction for education

Posted 7 May 2019

Can I receive an income tax deduction for paying for my own university costs?

How to work with multiple streams of income

Posted 2 May 2019

I currently work as a freelancer and I've just started a business and there's another one coming up soon. Do I need to submit these separately with deductions relating to each business or can I submit them as one? Can income from one stream bankroll and help build up another?

I'm also considering registering for Turnover Tax, but I need some clarity on the above before I go ahead with it.

Business travel from home office

Posted 12 March 2019

I work for a multi-national company and I am home based. I would like to find out, when I travel into the office for meetings, can I claim that mileage as business travel? Also, just for interest sake, would it be different if I was a salary earner and I did receive a travel allowance?

Compiling IRP6

Posted 7 March 2019

I am a first time IRP6 Provisional Taxpayer and I am looking to complete and submit my tax return through TaxTim. Would you be able to assist me with my tax return? I would also like to find out whether Provisional Taxpayers would need to submit documents and other expenses later in tax season again? Also, will I have an opportunity to submit other expenses later if I accidentally leave out something or over estimated on my IRP6 P1. And finally, how accurate does my IRP6 need to be considering t...

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Tax when selling the shares

Posted 17 February 2019

I previously received an opportunity to invest in shares through my company. I invested a portion of my income every month and every six months shares were purchased on my behalf at a 14% discount. The shares are US based and tax was deducted locally off my payslip. I would now like to sell off my shares, but I don't fully understand how I'd be liable for tax. We were able to sell them as soon as we had them. They were part of an ESPP (Employee Stock Purchase Plan) and were purchased by deduction from salary and taxed (nothing given out-right). On the platform, they do seem to be classified as short/long term but I think this is geared up for US rules of capital gains....

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Underestimated tax paid (IRP6)

Posted 15 February 2019

I am a provisional taxpayer. I have not yet received my final payslip, but I will be receiving it quite soon. On my IRP6 tax return, I have indicated that the total estimated on the taxable income and actual tax paid is an estimate as of today and not the accurate amount. So, what I would like to find out is, when the final payslips are available and ready for me to use, what will happen if I have underestimated the actual tax paid to date? Will I perhaps still be eligible for any refund?

Relocation expenses

Posted 11 February 2019

I got a new job and the new company is paying me one month's salary as relocation allowance. I understand that this is taxed, but can I have any tax deductions if I can prove actual relocation expenses?

Doctor's fees deductible if not on medical aid?

Posted 19 July 2017

Good Day. During 2016/2017 my wife stayed with me before we got married. We both had doctors visits but I did not have a medical aid yet. Can the doctor's fees be deducted from my tax? She also got pregnant with my child and we had monthly check ups.

SARS does not want to pay me the money it owes me.

Posted 18 July 2017

Good day, SARS owes me money, had to go through the ombudsman to prove this, successfully did so however, SARS now requires that I prove that I actually did pay an amount I owed 2 years back before they refund me. My question is: is that even legally allowed/required of me or is it foul play from SARS? Thank you for your assistance

RAF

Posted 18 July 2017

Kindly advice me on tax deductions regarding RAF maximum amount that ca be
deducted.

If a person is on Salary range of 280 000 to 300 000 p.a.

The employer and contribute each 7.5 % of the basic salary p.a to pension


The employee currently contribute R405 per month towards retirement
annuity fund per month

The question is how much can be deducted or get refunded from SARS annual
or how much can contributed to RAF to ensure that he/ she is not paying too...

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Old 2009/2010 efiling returns

Posted 17 July 2017


SARS say they upgraded their system and have now seen i did not file a tax return in 2009,2010 and have fined me for each year. Both years i was under the threshold but they are insisting i file these returns. I do not have the IRP5 anymore and the company no longer exists. They advised that I open the return on efiling and can then submit as it should have all the info, I have done this but there is no earning/medical aid information etc.
How do i resolve this now as both returns are now sitting open on efiling and i am getting fined R250 per month now that i do not resubmit....

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Claim on Pharmacy Bills

Posted 14 July 2017

I didn't keep my pharmacy receipts, may I still claim for these amounts? They do reflect on the my medical aid statement.

Renting Property and Travel Costs

Posted 13 July 2017

I'm renting out property in Cape Town and I stay in Johannesburg. When travelling down to Cape Town for maintenance/inspections purposes, do I claim the actual petrol money spent or the SARS rate of R3.29?

What are cost of sales in a consulting business

Posted 12 July 2017

What would cost of sales be in a consulting business - would my time be the cost? Would it be paper, laptop etc?

This query relates to question 4216 "Please enter the cost of sales incurred." in the Self Employed/Independent Contractor/Freelancer section.

Submit a return with medical aid claims on

Posted 12 July 2017

I wanted to enquire approximately how much it would cost for me to do my Tax Returns?
Just an estimation.
It would be just for me. Straight forward Gross Salary plus medical aid. No other claims such as commission, mileage, petrol etc.

I received two assessments from SARS

Posted 11 July 2017

I submitted my tax return and received a refund outcome, I later received another assessment with a different refund amount, can you explain this to me please?

Is RA and pension the same?

Posted 11 July 2017

I'm not sure how the deductions for my pension works as my employer has been deducting pension from my salary under code 4001. Do I still enter any amounts under annuity contributions?

Declaring other income to SARS

Posted 11 July 2017

I am full time employed but I have earned additional income by lecturing a couple of hours during the year at a different employer. This employer did not deduct any PAYE. The employer has paid me according to the hours that I have invoiced them. Should I answer the question about whether I'm an Independent Contractor as "Yes"?
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